Ch 23: Opening a Survival School Before the Zombie Outbreak

After lunch, the two families strolled along the pedestrian street outside the restaurant to digest.

Song Xiang seemed to be angling for a new pair of sneakers. He pestered Song Aiguo and Xu Feng into a shoe store, giving Song Rushuang the chance to sit under the shade of a roadside tree and chat with her parents.

She had come home with a mission.

Mainly about the “physical checkups” the forum had been discussing these past two days, along with other ways to encourage parents to prepare for the apocalypse.

“Look, you’re getting to that age,” Song Rushuang said earnestly. “A lot of major disease screenings should be done every year or two.”

She took out a printed sheet. It was the checklist shared on the forum by the classmate from a medical family.

“I did some homework. These are the checkup items people in their forties and fifties should start doing. If something needs treatment, treat it early. If there are nodules or hemorrhoids or anything like that, better to deal with them sooner rather than later. Once they grow bigger, it’s harder to manage. All illnesses are best caught and treated early…”

Because of her recent display of “foresight,” her parents’ trust in her judgment had risen dramatically. Song Rushuang even felt that if she announced she was going to buy a bun, they would look at her with misty-eyed pride, as if thinking, “Our daughter’s grown up. She knows to feed herself when she’s hungry.”

It made her skin crawl.

She decided to seize the moment and get everything done while she had the upper hand.

She was fully prepared. Xu Mingyu and Song Jianguo were practically stunned by how thorough she sounded. When they looked at the sheet, the items were clearly organized. Before leaving campus, Song Rushuang had even highlighted key points with a marker, cross-referencing them with her parents’ employee health check results from before summer and circling specific items to focus on.

They were touched and warmed.

Their daughter truly cared about their health.

Song Jianguo examined the paper again and again and even wanted to photograph it to post on his social feed.

Xu Mingyu, meanwhile, glanced through the shop window at Song Xiang’s family. Song Xiang was gesturing animatedly, while his parents looked helpless.

A trace of satisfaction appeared in Xu Mingyu’s smile. She turned back to her daughter. “Alright. We’ll make time to go.”

Yes!

Song Rushuang suppressed her excitement and mentally checked off one item from her list.

“Oh, right, Mom, Dad. I’m planning to sign up for driving school and learn on weekends,” she continued before they could interrupt. “A few of us teamed up with the dorm next door for a group discount. Since there are several of us, they’re giving us thirty percent off.”

She laid everything out clearly, even negotiating group pricing herself. Her parents were too busy feeling proud of her maturity to object.

Song Jianguo even added, “How about this? If you pass all your courses this term and keep your grades above 90, your mom and I will buy you a car.”

If she had her own car, escaping and transporting supplies in the apocalypse would be much easier. Song Rushuang’s spirits soared—then immediately dropped when she heard the conditions attached.

“Go for it, Xiaoshuang. If you set your mind to something, you can do it!” Xu Mingyu encouraged.

Song Rushuang: “…”

Mom. This one I genuinely cannot do.

Other students earn participation points just by attending class on time. She earns them by running five kilometers every day.

Other students cram for three days and three nights before exams. She has to kill five zombies to pass.

How is that comparable?!

She forced a bitter smile and agreed.

Xu Mingyu didn’t notice anything unusual and, out of habit, took her daughter’s hand.

She paused.

The skin felt rough.

Startled, she turned Song Rushuang’s hand over and saw calluses forming across her palms and fingertips.

At home, they had rarely let her do heavy chores. Even washing dishes required gloves. Aside from a small writing callus, her hands had always been soft and pale.

Now, the skin was thicker, rougher, and darker.

Song Rushuang gently pulled her hand back at that moment and said casually, “Oh right, during military training we did rock climbing. It was really fun. I’ll take you to a climbing gym sometime.”

Song Jianguo responded enthusiastically.

Xu Mingyu frowned, studying her daughter more closely. She had gotten darker and thinner. But her eyes were brighter and sharper than before. She didn’t look unhappy.

Perhaps it really was from climbing.

Song Rushuang watched her mother’s reaction. Seeing that she seemed convinced, the weight in her chest eased.

“Oh, by the way, how’s your school overall? The teachers are good, right?” Song Jianguo asked, oblivious to the subtle exchange between mother and daughter.

Song Rushuang froze for half a second. “Very… very good.”

At that moment, images flashed through her mind.

Teacher Hao’s intimidating shaved head.

Teacher Bai’s flashy dyed streaks.

Teacher Zhao, the relentless exam-setter.

Teacher Liu, who could never remember students’ names and trembled slightly as she walked.

And finally—

The principal pressing a drunk man’s head against a table, wood splintering on impact.

Song Rushuang swallowed.

She desperately erased those mental images and scrambled for adjectives that would please her parents.

“Our teachers… um… they all look very kind and gentle. They love small animals. They’re benevolent and easy to get along with.”

Teaching survival skills to save humanity was, after all, benevolent.

If they could snap a zombie’s neck in an instant, who wouldn’t get along with them?

As for loving animals, the principal’s first decisive action had indirectly saved a chubby little dog. Its photo now hung in the gym as the “donor’s dog,” visible whenever anyone looked up.

Fangzhou had no statues of saints, no celebrity walls, no giant portraits of school leaders or top students. The only framed photo displayed prominently across campus was of a Samoyed.

If that wasn’t loving animals, what was?

Song Rushuang nearly convinced herself.

Song Jianguo nodded, satisfied. “That’s good, that’s good.”

“People who love animals are usually very gentle,” Xu Mingyu added, segueing into a story about a senior colleague at her workplace who liked catching stray cats to have them neutered.

She did not notice her daughter nearly sweating through her clothes.

Just as Song Rushuang shifted uncomfortably, Song Xiang’s family exited the store.

Song Xiang carried a blue shoe box and looked smug.

Song Rushuang barely glanced at him.

Instead, her eyes were drawn to someone behind him.

A strikingly beautiful young woman.

Her long hair was bleached platinum, like an idol fresh off a stage. She wore a cropped top that revealed a sliver of pale waist.

One leg was encased in a thick cast. Leaning on crutches, she hopped out of the store.

Like a walking spotlight, she instantly drew nearly every gaze on the street.

Song Rushuang admired her beauty for a few seconds before noticing a middle-aged woman and a boy walking with her.

The boy looked about thirteen or fourteen, red-lipped and fair-skinned, handsome as well. Perhaps her younger brother? The middle-aged woman looked slightly worn, holding the boy’s hand and quickly stepping forward to hold the door open for the girl as they exited.

“Thank you,” the girl said politely.

Maybe they weren’t family after all.

Song Xiang noticed the trio too. Hugging the shoebox, his gaze lingered on the girl’s waist as he let out a crude whistle.

With exaggerated bravado, he grinned. “Hey, beauty. Want to add me?”

Song Rushuang was nearly stunned by her cousin’s shameless stupidity.

But on second thought, he had always been like this. Song Aiguo and Xu Feng had never really corrected him.

Xu Mingyu and Song Jianguo frowned as well. Out of consideration for his parents, they said nothing, merely exchanging a look.

“You—”

Song Rushuang had just opened her mouth to say, Are you insane?, when the blonde girl—who had been standing sideways talking to the mother and son—suddenly tucked her crutch under her arm, freed one hand, and smiled as she brushed her long hair behind her ear.

In the instant she lowered her hand again, using the motion of grabbing the crutch as cover, she swiftly flashed Song Xiang an internationally recognized friendly gesture.

It was so quick that the mother beside her did not notice anything at all.

Song Rushuang: ???

Nicely done, sister!

Song Xiang seemed frozen too. After a split second of disbelief, he exploded. “What does that mean? Huh?!”

Xu Feng snapped, “So uncultured! What kind of parents raise a girl to be that rude?”

Song Aiguo added, “Look at her—so young, dyed hair, midriff showing. Definitely not from a good family. Probably some delinquent from around here.”

Song Jianguo and Xu Mingyu could not stand it and moved forward in unspoken agreement. “Alright, alright. Let’s go to the next store.”

“It’s just kids joking around. No need to get angry.”

Song Rushuang happily jumped in to defuse things. “Exactly. I read an article the other day saying that in some Amazon rainforest tribes, that gesture actually means hello—”

Her nonsense was cut short by a shrill, piercing scream.

Song Rushuang instinctively ducked her head and turned toward the source.

Several people came scrambling around the corner of the pedestrian street, stumbling and crawling. High heels, handbags, and various belongings scattered across the ground. They kept looking back as if something horrifying were chasing them.

That something soon revealed itself.

A pitch-black SUV.

It was tearing into the pedestrian street at a speed that was impossible within city limits.

The deafening roar they had heard was the engine.

In Song Rushuang’s rapidly shrinking pupils, the SUV grew larger and larger. On its mangled hood, a human body was pinned.

The man wore a security uniform—likely the guard stationed at the entrance to block vehicles. His torso bent at an unnatural angle, as if every bone inside had been shattered by the impact.

With a sharp flick of its tail, the SUV flung the body from its windshield. After tumbling several times, the corpse slammed against a thick roadside tree trunk. The eyes remained wide open in horror.

For a fleeting moment, Song Rushuang felt she saw fear and unwillingness in those eyes.

For him, this had probably been an ordinary weekend shift. Because of Mid-Autumn Festival, he might even have gotten off early, carrying home the mooncakes from his workplace to see his wife and children.

He would never have understood how a routine attempt to block a vehicle could cost him his life.

The SUV, now rid of its burden, did not slow in the slightest. The engine’s low growl deepened as the devil inside pressed harder on the accelerator.

The crowd finally snapped out of their daze and screamed, scattering in all directions.

But it was too late.

This multi-million-dollar vehicle’s high performance allowed it to accelerate instantly.

Death swung its scythe, a streak of black lightning cutting into the crowd.

At such extreme speed, even the slightest brush could prove fatal.

Wheels churned through flesh, spraying blood and fragments outward under immense force.

Song Rushuang felt her lunch rising into her throat.

Fortunately, after this period of training, she had somewhat adapted to bloody scenes. She no longer vomited at the sight.

Besides, horrifying as this was, it still could not compare to hundreds of zombies swarming during the simulation drill.

It sounded long when described, but in reality only two or three seconds had passed since the SUV stormed in.

Many people likely did not even realize what had happened before they died. A shopping street filled with laughter moments ago had, in an instant, become a slaughterhouse.

Song Rushuang shoved her stunned parents. “Quick! Get inside a shop!”

Then she noticed—the storefronts along the street were mostly large glass display windows, designed for merchandise. They would never withstand the SUV crashing through.

She gritted her teeth. “No—don’t go inside. Go—”

Her eyes scanned the surroundings rapidly. She locked onto a narrow alley a few meters away.

“This way!”

Xu Mingyu and Song Jianguo followed without hesitation.

Xu Feng panicked. Seeing the SUV still some distance away, she tried to pull her son in the opposite direction of the vehicle.

“Are you trying to die?!” Song Rushuang shouted sharply.

“You think two legs can outrun four wheels? Run perpendicular to the car! Once it accelerates, it can’t turn easily!”

Without waiting, she grabbed the stunned Xu Feng and pushed her toward the alley, colliding with Song Xiang along the way.

Song Xiang had just pulled open the shoe store door and had one foot inside. Being shoved like that, he flared up. “What are you doing?!”

“I’m saving you! Shut up!” she roared back even louder.

She seized him by the collar and yanked him out.

Caught off guard, Song Xiang stumbled. In his blank, rattled mind, a stray thought surfaced: his cousin was stronger than he had imagined.

The two families scrambled into the narrow alley just three or four meters away. Before they could steady themselves, a thunderous crash echoed behind them.

The sound made hearts quake.

Summoning courage, Song Rushuang peeked out.

Not far away, the SUV had slammed straight into a clothing store.

Glass shattered effortlessly. Screams erupted from inside—then quickly fell into silence.

She felt someone trembling beside her.

It was Xu Feng.

She, too, was peering out, her body shaking violently. She glanced at her niece.

If her son had run into the store just now… he might already be dead.

Her lips quivered. Then she suddenly remembered that her son, in his rush to hide, had not even thought to call for her.

She looked again at Song Rushuang.

She had called her own parents first, then dragged Xu Feng and Song Xiang along. Only after ensuring everyone else was inside had she entered the alley herself.

Xu Feng had always believed that although her son did not excel academically, he would surely succeed in other ways.

But now, looking at Song Rushuang, something complicated stirred within her fear-stricken heart.

“Look over there,” Xu Mingyu suddenly said, her voice trembling.

Several uniformed police officers struggled through the chaotic crowd, trying to maintain order while pulling injured people out of the way to prevent a stampede. Panic-stricken pedestrians scrambled in every direction. The scene was utter chaos. One officer raised his gun, hesitated—then lowered it. The next second, the SUV barreled straight toward them.

Song Rushuang and the others instinctively turned their heads away. Her heart pounded violently. She did not dare look.

The SUV plowed forward recklessly, ignoring obstacles, only pausing ever so slightly during each sharp turn. One officer seized that brief hesitation, quietly approaching from the side. He leapt onto the vehicle, attempting to wrench open the driver’s door.

He pulled hard.

It did not budge.

“Not good…” Song Rushuang muttered.

Sure enough, the SUV abruptly swerved, forcing itself toward the wall on the driver’s side.

The onlookers’ hearts leapt into their throats. Fortunately, the officer jumped down just in time. The SUV’s metal frame scraped against the wall, throwing off bright sparks. The officer hit the ground from the speeding vehicle, rolled several times, and then lay still.

Song Jianguo pulled his gaze away, trembling. “This won’t work. It’s just pointless sacrifice…”

Without riot vehicles or tire spikes, there was no stopping this mad beast.

The older adults watched in fear. Song Rushuang, however, swiftly activated her wristband and opened the emergency alert function.

Unlike the hotpot restaurant incident, when Qin Yufei had been locked in a confrontation and she had no time to type, this time she quickly entered a line of text:

[Black SUV ramming people on Yongxin Road pedestrian street! Stay away!]

The emergency alert would automatically send to the nearest contacts. She wanted nearby classmates to be on guard and avoid coming close.

After pressing send, she looked back toward the unstoppable SUV, her heart hammering.

She could not deny it—besides warning others away, she had another reason for sending that message.

She wanted someone specific to see it.

No. What was she thinking? The smartest course of action right now was to stay somewhere safe and wait for police reinforcements. Individual strength meant nothing in a situation like this…

She took a deep breath and forced the reckless thought out of her mind.

Then, from the corner of her eye, she froze.

There was still someone in the middle of the street.

The SUV had not reached that area yet. It was not a corpse.

Song Rushuang focused.

Pale golden hair.

It was the girl from earlier.

She had fallen—likely knocked down while fleeing. Her crutches lay some distance away. She was struggling to stand, wobbling. The cast on her leg could not bear weight. Forcing herself to move made her face contort with pain.

She glanced at the distance to the roadside—probably realizing she could not reach the alley quickly enough. Walking recklessly might cause her to lose balance and fall again.

She made a quick decision.

Instead of heading for the alley, she turned and lunged toward a tree in the middle of the street.

She nearly fell again, but managed to grab the trunk in time.

Song Rushuang sucked in a sharp breath.

Not far away, the SUV was repeatedly reversing over a motionless body on the ground.

She could vividly imagine what would happen to the girl if she did not move in time.

But—

Song Rushuang looked at the tree.

An able-bodied person could use the trunk as cover, moving flexibly around it to avoid impact. But the girl, clumsy with a cast, would be easy prey. Given the driver’s brutality, he might repeatedly attempt to ram her.

The girl seemed to realize this too. She reached upward, trying to grasp protrusions on the trunk to climb.

With only one usable leg, she could not manage it.

She hopped several times in place and failed. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

This won’t work.

Song Rushuang gritted her teeth.

“I’ll be right back. Stay hidden!”

She bolted out of the alley.

“Xiaoshuang!!” Xu Mingyu cried.

“I’ll go—you stay!” Song Jianguo grabbed her, trying to follow, but as soon as he stepped half out of the alley, the SUV roared past, brushing dangerously close.

He lost his balance and fell hard onto the ground, face pale as he watched the vehicle charge toward his daughter.

Seconds earlier, Song Rushuang had sprinted at top speed to the girl’s side. As the girl attempted to climb again, Rushuang decisively supported her from below and shoved upward with force.

The girl gasped, too startled to look back. Her one good foot instinctively found a higher protrusion she had not reached before. She felt herself lifted slightly.

Song Rushuang crouched, wrapping her arms around the girl’s legs to steady her. “Quick!”

The girl seized a thicker branch above with both hands. She pushed off. Song Rushuang gave one more boost from beneath her shoe.

With combined force, the girl finally secured herself on the tree.

Song Rushuang turned—

The SUV had restarted.

The windshield was aimed straight at her.

The driver’s face was obscured.

Her mind went blank.

Training instincts exploded to life.

She rolled clumsily, tucking herself behind the tree trunk just as the SUV sliced past her. It sped dozens of meters further before screeching to a stop.

Then it reversed.

Turned.

Accelerated again.

A complete lunatic.

Song Rushuang did not hesitate. She began climbing.

At that moment, she felt an overwhelming gratitude for a silly dorm bet. She and her roommates had wagered who could climb every building on Fangzhou’s campus first. The winner would not have to take out the trash for two weeks.

That bet had driven her to practice climbing repeatedly outside of class. The rough calluses on her hands were proof.

To her astonishment, in just three weeks—barely twenty days—her agility had improved dramatically. She scrambled up the tree in a few swift motions. Her movements were far more nimble than during high school runs.

She saw her own growth.

She had never felt more thankful for the principal and the teachers’ brutal training.

Then—

A thunderous crash.

The trunk beneath them shook violently, nearly throwing her off before she had fully steadied herself.

A hand shot around her waist and held tight.

She turned, heart pounding.

“Thank you,” she said.

“What are you thanking me for? I should be thanking you,” the blonde girl said, face pale. “Hold on tight.”

They said nothing more. Like conjoined twins, they locked onto each other and looked down.

The SUV had rammed into the tree.

Fortunately, it had not built up full speed before impact, and the trunk was thick enough to withstand the blow.

But—

Song Rushuang scanned the street.

Bodies lay scattered. The wounded who could still move had already been dragged into side alleys.

As far as she could see, they were the only two living targets left.

The SUV seemed to lock onto them as well.

It began reversing slowly.

Like a death knell.

Why are the police taking so long?

The thought flashed through her mind, but she rejected it immediately.

No. It had only been one or two minutes since the SUV entered the street. This was not slow response. They could not simply wait for rescue.

They had to find a way to survive.

What way?

The cries and moans of the wounded grew louder, more oppressive, scrambling her thoughts.

Despair crept upward, tightening around her heart.

Then—

In the corner of her vision, a figure appeared on the street that should have been empty.

Slowly, Song Rushuang turned her head.

In that instant, all the screams and despair faded from her ears.

“BOOM!”

The display window of a closed shop along the street exploded outward, shattering into countless fragments that rained down like a storm.

Every gaze snapped toward the sound.

Fu Qing dropped the stone she had casually picked up.

Her dark, steady eyes pierced past the SUV’s windshield glare and locked firmly onto the driver’s seat.

₊˚.🎧📓✩

Sandy: AHHHHH she’s here she’s here ……..